JP7 Pickup Question (Jon?)

[jeffrey]

Okay, as you guys know I have an older (~3yrs old) PRB JP7 and a few month old CBP JP7.

Here's my question/problem (I might just be dumb and screwing it up; highly likely ).

On my older JP7, the PRB one, I was able to lower the pickup approximately 3mm just by turning the bass-string side screw a few times. No prob, went perfect.

On my newer CBP JP7, the pickup was already as low as it goes from the factory, yet it's a good 3-4mm higher than the pickup on my older PRB JP7.

This is bad for me for a number of reasons, primarily beacuse I have an aggressive picking hand and palm mute a lot. With the pickup as it is currently, I cannot fully palm mute on the CBP like I can on the PRB because the low B string hits inside coil's pole piece.

I haven't taken the pickup out yet to see if something is just stuck or not, although I did try and turn the screw and it is all the way down already. It does, from just a quick visual inspection, appear that either the newer JP7 bridge pickups are TALLER or the routed hole for it is SHALLOWER.

I need to lower this pickup some how. As it is, it just isn't working for me. It's bad enough that I can't play as it is for the purpose I purchased it: to play with my band.

I guess if there's been some sort of a subtle production change since my original purchase that are keeping me from lowering it, I'll have to take it somewhere and have the pickup hole routed out unless there was a pickup change instead and it's just taller. In that case I'd probably have the pickup replaced for the shallower one.

 

[GWDavis28]

Jeffery, wouldn't shimmin the neck move the pickup away from the strings?

Is the neck on your PRB shimmed? That might account for the pickup being farther away from the strings.

Glenn |B)

 

[jongitarz]

There have been no changes in the p/ups or p/up height that I know of. My guess is there may be some paint build up under the p/up. I will double check with Dudley when he gets in, and see if there might have been a change.

 

[Raz]

I had the same sort of situation. Although after checking the pups and the route I determined that this was how the guitar was built, and perhaps JP likes his pups close to the strings. I did two things to suite my style, first I shimmed the neck and then adjusted the individual pole pieces...

 

[jongitarz]

Ok...I checked with Dudley, and there have not been any changes made to the p/ups or the p/up cavity. We both think that there is probably some paint build up under the p/up.

 

[GHWelles]

Shimming the neck would work, but you would have to raise all the saddles at the bridge. You also reduce the contact between the body and neck, which might change the way the guitar sounds a little.

If it was me, I would get a wood drill bit the size of the pickup mount and drill into the wood pickup mounts, and shave it down until it was low enough. If you go too low, you can shim the pickup back up. Or you could try a dremel to grind down the paint.

Of course this would void the warranty.

 

[jeffrey]

I really wouldn't want to shim this thing. Shims are not a plausible solution for me, sorry.

I'm going to change strings on both of them tonight at the same time as they are both dead as doornails now, I'll take a closer look, maybe pull out the pickups, maybe take a few pictures.

Thanks for everyone's help, thanks Jon!